The Way You Look At Me Ch. 01

"But Poppy!" whined the little girl as she held up the small ceramic and fabric Santa.

"No buts," said Josh with a sigh. "We'll put him out in a few minutes. Why don't you help your brother take Daniel up to his room? You know, the one we did up this morning."

Squealing, Isabelle dropped the Santa into the box with a clank that made Josh groan. "Okay!" She ran forward and grabbed Daniel's hand, pulling him towards the stairs as she rattled off questions. "Hi, I'm Isabelle. Daddy says you're going to stay with us for awhile. Do you like peas? I don't, I think they're gross. Are you going to help us decorate? Does Santa know you're staying here?" She suddenly gasped and turned around as she was halfway up the stairs. "Poppy!" she shouted.

Peering around the tree, an ornament dangled from between his fingers, Josh sighed softly. "Yes little one?"

"We have to get Daniel a present," exclaimed Isabelle. "In case Santa doesn't know where he is! He won't have any gifts on Christmas." She stopped and her eyes went wide. "We should get him lots of gifts, since Daddy said he needs lots of love." She looked up at Daniel with solemn eyes that reminded him of dark, rich coffee. She spoke in a very serious tone for a four year old as she wrapped her arms around Daniel's leg. "Its okay. If Santa doesn't bring you any gifts, you can have some of mine, as long as its not the doll I want, okay?"

Daniel couldn't help but smile down at the sweet little girl. "Okay."

"Izzy," sighed Josh. "Its under control. Your Daddy and I called Santa this morning and told him that Daniel was staying here. Now, go show him his room."

"Okay!" shouted Isabelle as she bolted up the stairs. "This way!"

The room that Isabelle led him into was large and done in shades of green and cream. A fire burned in the fireplace, and small festive decorations had been added to the room for holiday, most in red to standout against the green walls. Daniel drew in a breath as he stepped into the room. "Wow, this is...wow..."

Isabelle pointed to the bed where the sheets had been pulled back and a small teddy bear sat on a pillow. "I did that!" she said with a note of pride. "Poppy said it was called turning off the bed."

"Turning down the bed," said Aiden as he sat the bags on the floor. "Its called turning down the bed, Izzy."

"Whatever," said Isabelle. "I put one of my teddies in here for you."

Daniel smiled as he looked around the room, his eyes finally settling on the little brown stuffed bear. It was missing one of its button eyes. "Thank you Isabelle."

"You can call me Izzy," said Isabelle with a grin.

Nodding, Daniel smiled. "You can call me Danny."

"Okay!" said Isabelle as she suddenly ran out of the room. "Poppy! I'm coming!" she called as she ran down the stairs.

Sighing, Aiden glanced around the room and forced a grin. "Sorry, she's a bundle of energy."

"No," said Daniel. "She's sweet. You're lucky."

"Usually," said Aiden. He gestured at the door along the far wall. "That leads to the bathroom, and while you probably won't use it right now, that," he gestured to the french door windows on one side of the fireplace, "Leads out onto the porch."

"Cool," nodded Daniel.

Aiden gestured at the wardrobe against the wall. "Clothes are in there. I've probably got a few things you can have as well." He chuckled as he shook his head. "If you hadn't noticed, money isn't much of a concern for my family."

"So I'm seeing," said Daniel. "Thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it."

Aiden shook his head and shrugged. "Its not a big deal. Dad is always on me about doing something good in life. Maybe this is the start of that. Oh," he blinked as he jutted his thumb over his shoulder towards the bathroom door. "Towels are in the bathroom. If there's anything else you need, just give a shout. I'm going to head down and help decorate, wanna come?"

From out in the hallway, the sound of Josh's voice echoed. "Izzy! Put down the Santa!"

Grinning, Daniel nodded. "Yea, I think I will."

–

Most of the decorating was done, with Aiden up on the scaffolding putting the last of the ornaments on the tree. Daniel sat in the entry hall watching, sprawled out on the wood floor. "I've never seen a tree like this," he said softly. He gestured at the still empty top of the tree. "What are you going to top the tree with?"

Grinning, Aiden placed the last ornament before he hopped down from the scaffolding. "Just wait," he said as he made his way over to the stack of boxes, most of which were empty now. He reached inside and sighed softly as he gingerly lifted out a simple wooden box. Turning towards Daniel, Aiden gestured to him. "Come see."

With a grunt, Daniel pushed himself up off the floor and onto his knees. Sitting for a moment, he found himself eye level with Aiden's groin. Blinking, he noticed the bulge and swallowed hard. "Uh..."

Smirking, Aiden raised a brow as he glanced down at Daniel. "While I like the idea of you on your knees, I don't think the entry hall of my house with my family in the other room is the place to do that sort of thing."

Daniel shot up off the floor, his face burning. "Sorry, I...uh...sorry..." he mumbled.

"Its okay," laughed Aiden. "I was just messing with you. Here," he said as he opened the wooden box. "Take a look."

The lid of the box came off easily enough, and tucked inside among pieces of newspaper was a large gold and silver colored glass star. Small crystals hung from the points, and the whole thing shimmered in the light. "Wow," said Daniel. "That's beautiful."

Aiden nodded. "Yea. Its mercury glass. My great-great grandmother bought it back in like...1910 or something." He gestured to the scaffold and smiled. "Go on up."

Daniel cast a wary eye at the scaffold. He was not fond of heights. "I think I'll stay down here."

"Nope," said Aiden with a shake of his head. "Its your first Christmas with us, so you get to put the star up." He grinned as he grabbed Daniel's hand, the box held under one arm. "Come on, I'll help you."

Shaking his head, Daniel sighed as he followed Aiden to the scaffolding. "You're awfully pushy, you know that?"

"So I've been told," said Aiden as he lifted the box up onto the scaffold and climbed up. Once ontop, he quickly turned and held out his hand for Daniel. "But I figure this is your chance to hang that shining star you were singing about the other day."

Taking the pro-offered hand, Daniel climbed up the short ladder. "Wait," he said as he stood up on the scaffold. "When did you hear me singing?"

"Uh..." Aiden blushed. "Well...I was...um..."

"You were listening outside of the door, weren't you?" asked Daniel.

Aiden shrugged as he pulled the star out of the box. "It wasn't intentional. I was checking door numbers, realized I was in the wrong place, and then I heard someone singing and...well..." He shrugged again and gave a lopsided smile. "You sounded so sad, and I dunno, I just wanted to make you feel better. I knew I was screwed with work at that point anyway, so..."

With a small smile, Daniel nodded. "That's sweet..." He glanced at the top of the tree and then back at the star Aiden was holding. "So...how do we do this?"

"Here," said Aiden as he handed Daniel the star. "Now just lean up against the railing."

Taking the star, Daniel nodded and moved up to the railing. He paused as he felt a pair of arms slipping around he waist, and a strong chest against his back. "N-now what?" he asked.

Aiden's voice was in his ear, not much more than a whisper. "Now, just step up on the lower railing here, and just slide it over the top of the tree."

Swallowing, Daniel nodded once more as he raised his foot up and found the lowest railing. Now another foot in the air, he leaned forward, the top of the railing pressing across his thighs as he raised the star up and slid it over the top of the tree. "There," he said and leaned back. His feet slipped and suddenly he was being held in Aiden's arms.

Grunting, Aiden held Daniel up. "Careful," he chuckled. "You wouldn't want to fall..."

"Uh...Yea," nodded Daniel as he pulled himself upright. The star seemed to shine now that it was in its proper place atop the tree. With a soft smile, he sang."Hang a shining star upon the highest bough..."

"Mm," grunted Aiden softly. "We should probably get down from here."

"Yea," said Daniel. He followed Aiden down the short ladder and stepped back to look at the tree. "Pretty." He glanced at Aiden and blinked as he saw the intent look on his face. "What?" he asked softly. Anything else he might have said was cut off as Aiden suddenly leaned in and pressed a kiss to his mouth. His lips were soft, tender but demanding as he pressed in. Pulling back, Daniel once again found Aiden's arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "What was that for?" he asked, nearly breathless.

Grinning, Aiden glanced upwards. "You're under the mistletoe."

Daniel glanced up. Sure enough, hanging above them a bundle of green leaves rested, dotted with white and red berries. "Oh," he said softly. "Well..."

Aiden chuckled as he caught Daniel's mouth in another kiss. "Merry Christmas Danny..."